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Cuisine Scene: The Elm Hurst Inn Restaurant

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It’s snowing, and it’s February in South Western Ontario and I just want to get away.

Traffic is horrible and the wind-chill factor is enough to hurt your face, literally. I daydream about food, when I should be paying better attention to the brake lights in front of me, however today I can’t help myself because I am distracted with the anticipation of culinary delights! Admittedly, a large portion of my time is spent thinking about food, but today, it’s actually my job to think about food, which couldn’t be more fantastic!

As I drive up the snow-covered laneway of the Elm Hurst Inn, I am struck by its beauty. The grounds are a winter wonderland of fresh, clean, white powder snow. The bare trees are lightly dusted as though someone has decorated the outdoors perfectly for a postcard. The scene is picturesque at the very least, and although I am minutes from the 401, there is a lovely silence here that makes me feel transported to a country oasis. Perhaps the get-away I needed is right here. The Inn itself is a well-preened and stately mansion, both impressive and welcoming.

The Elm Hurst Inn is far more than just the restaurant; with 49 beautifully renovated rooms, an Aveda Spa, rooms for Weddings, conferences, and just about any type of gathering you can imagine, there is a lot going on here. However, my job is to talk about the food, and no matter how impressed I was with the entire package, or how gorgeous the wintery countryside backdrop was, it was indeed the food that stole the show.

I find Chef Michael Davies in the kitchen and he is busying himself with the last minute items he needs to complete his set up before we start filming him cook. He is relaxed and at home in this space. He doesn’t hesitate to take the extra time for me when I ask him to search for an old magazine article he was featured in as we are chatting about seafood sustainability. Chef Michael is always moving, we chat, I write, he dances the kitchen dance gracefully while double checking his mise-en-place, putting his pans in place and rhyming off some ingredients he will use in his dishes today. I casually mention the beauty of this place, and his grin speaks volumes. He tells me how awesome it is to work in such a gorgeous setting, getting away from it all to come to work, not working within the confines of some dreary office building. The aesthetic here contributes greatly to his personal happiness.

Michael Davies has been the Executive Chef at The Elm Hurst Inn for some 18 years now. He is a Certified Chef de Cuisine at this point, but he has applied and been accepted into the Certified Master Chef program at the Canadian Culinary Institute (under the auspice of the Canadian Culinary Federation) at Humber College. He will be completing his Masters in his spare time hopefully later this year. Trained formally at George Brown College, Chef has been in the business as long as he can remember starting out as a dishwasher in his first job in 1972. He laments now about those early days, telling me how ‘no one could cook, I used to have to wash all the burnt pots and pans and finally thought to myself; I can cook better than these guys’, and that’s how he started cooking. Focussing now on innovative modern cuisine; Chef puts the emphasis on fresh and local whenever possible. Sustainability is a top priority for Chef and he strictly works with Seafood (and Meat) purveyors who have the same priorities. Chef tells me flat out, ‘if I don’t know where it comes from, I won’t buy it’. Which seems to be a recurring theme within the industry for anyone who cooks with intense pride; knowledge is key, knowledge of where food comes from, how it is grown, harvested and replenished, and how it is taken care of has all become important to us. It’s important to the people cooking to have this information, and important for them to be able to pass it along to their guests. Chef Michael explains to me the importance of education, and the responsibility that Chefs have to educate the public. We talk about the amount of food information a Chef compiles over their career. The amount of knowledge it takes to do this job well is astounding, but being able to pass that knowledge along to people is what it’s really about.

When a Chef starts talking ingredients and recipes, you get a glimpse into their style, the soul of their cookery. Chef Michael speaks about ‘keeping it clean’, as in the flavour profile of the dish and using unique ingredients without them being lost in the mix. He chats a little about the different geographic cuisines which interest him and loves to use Middle Eastern ingredients; incorporating new flavours into a traditional array of recipes. We talk about cheese and he mentions Gunn’s Hill Cheese; local artisanal cheese makers we both hold in high esteem. He tells me ‘trends come and go, classic food is here to stay’. And I’m feeling eager, as he starts to compose his first dish for the camera.

I see huge Diver scallops and perfect mid-sized shrimp with some shelled (cooked) little neck clams on the prep table. Chef is going to cook a preview of the new Middle Eastern Diver Scallop, Shrimp, Clams, Tomato & Feta ‘casserole’ which will be added to his new menu released at the beginning of March. He sears the shrimp and scallops in olive oil with a little butter in a hot cast iron skillet and adds in garlic, white wine and eventually a little curry paste and tomato sauce (which is truly just freshly crushed plum tomatoes). The kitchen comes to life with the scent of the curry and wine wafting towards me. This dish can be served as an appetizer or entrée, and will be accompanied by a unique and lovely mixture of wild and white rice which is sautéed with shallots, sundried cherries and figs, chick peas, ground cumin and fresh parsley. After the seafood has a little golden brown colour and has been simmering with the curry and tomato sauce, it is transferred to another cast iron baking dish. Chef adds in the clams, some fresh oregano and cubed Greek Feta on top and the dish is put in the 400° oven to bake. The end result is a co-mingling of flavours that are both exciting and bold.

While cooking, the curry scent was powerful, leading me to believe it was the dominant ingredient in this dish, but upon tasting, it has become a lovely background or foundation flavour. The perfectly cooked scallops shine as the star of this dish and their pillowy texture is perfect when combined with the rice, sundried cherries and chickpeas setting off a diverse combination of substance on the tongue, the sweet and tart flavour of the cherries being unleashed fully only as they are crushed through chewing.

The Elm Hurst Inn restaurant serves only certified Angus beef, and Chef Michael treated me to a skillet seared 10oz Striploin with Salsa Verde, Chorizo sausage and Gunn’s Hill cheese ‘poutine’ and sautéed baby carrots, green beans and spaghetti squash. The end result was a ridiculously decadent, tender, flavourful steak dinner I will not soon forget!

The fig and Cognac Crème Brûlée was a brilliant twist on a French classic dessert. Once again playing to the textures of the food, as well as harmonious flavours, Chef nailed it! I always love that initial cracking through the top layer of toasted sugar on a crème brûlée, like breaking open a little gift to expose the treasure inside. This treasure was velvety creamy custard with a hint of cognac and the texture of the fig center was a unique gift in itself.

Chef Michael is a busy man; he has already generously spent hours of his time talking and cooking with me, so I am then introduced to Alon. Chef hurries away to attend to one of the endless tasks of his day. Alon is the General Manager of The Elm Hurst Inn, and he gives me a lovely guided tour. We talk about the heritage of the building. Alon mentions it was built in 1872 as we explore the many original marble fireplace mantles, hardwood floors and stained glass windows.

This building has an ‘old world’ charm to it. It is a standing reminder of a time passed. A time when things were built to last and quality took precedence. There have been lots of renovations over the years, and the owners have done well to preserve the ambience of this fine example of the Gothic Revival style mansion.

This Inn, nestled into the countryside in Ingersoll, Ontario is an escape; a retreat from daily life to a place not far away at all, yet far enough to find a little slice of calm. The grounds are serene in their beauty, even in this dead of winter. The warmth and ambience of the Inn itself provides a charm not easily duplicated and the menu is a collection of fine choices to please the palate.

Thinking of the Diver scallops, I contemplate if making a reservation for tomorrow is too soon?